Tie cleaning form

ABSTRACT

A form adapted to be inserted into a man&#39;&#39;s tie of the tapered type to act as a backing surface during the washing of the tie and as a form during the subsequent drying of the tie consists of a board formed of a clear, cast acrylic plastic having a thickness of 3/16 inch and having an elongated, tapered shape similar to that of the tie with which it is to be used. The surfaces of the form are smoothly finished and the edges are rounded so that the form may be inserted into the tie on the wide end without snagging the tie and provide a hard smooth backing surface for brushing during washing. The clear acrylic allows even the sheerest material to be washed without obscuring stains on the tie.

United States Patent Haas Apr. 29, 1975 [54] TIE CLEANING FORM 39943110/1933 United Kingdom 223/82 [76] Inventor: Antoinette M. Haas, 1630 INottingham Madison Heights, Primary E,\'ammerGeo. V. Larkm Mich 48071Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Hugh L. Fisher [22] Filed: May 6, 1974 2 A l N467 078 [57] ABSTRACT I 1 l 1 pp 0 A form adapted to be mserted mto amans he of the tapered type to act as a backing surface during the [52]US. Cl. 223/82 washing of the tie and as a form during the subsequent[51] Int. Cl. D066 15/00 drying of the tie consists of a board formed ofa clear, [58] Field of Search 223/65, 82, 63 cast acrylic plastic havinga thickness of 3/16 inch and having an elongated, tapered shape similarto that of [56] References Cited the tie with which it is to be used.The surfaces of the UNITED STATES PATENTS form are smoothly finished andthe edges are rounded 1,196.515 8/1916 Buttcrworth 223/82 30 that themay be inserted hhe the he the 1.775.431 9 1930 Hoffmann 223/82 Wide endWithout snagging the tie and Provide a hard 1182 68 5/1965 Prom H 233 5smooth backing surface for brushing during washing. 3.1911322 6/1965Gippcrth 223/82 The clear acrylic allows even the sheerest material toFOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS be washed without obscuring stains onthe tie. 586,613 3/1947 United Kingdom 223/82 1 Claim, 3 Drawing FiguresTIE CLEANING FORM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThis invention relates to a form to be inserted in mens ties to allowwashing and drying of the tie.

2. Prior Art Mens cravats, or ties, are worn in a position where theyare very apt to become soiled; in fact, the modern tie is the historicaldescendant of the dickey which protected the shirt front from stains andcould be laundered without requiring laundering of the entire shirt. Butthe highly decorative fabrics used in modern ties spot easily and arerelatively difficult to clean.

Various implements have been proposed to assist in laundering ties orsupporting them while they dry but for a variety of reasons thesedevices have not been commercially successful. One such device isdisclosed in US. Pat. No. l,l96,5 l5. It consists ofa pair of rigidtapered boards, one adapted to be inserted in the wide end of the tieand the other in the narrow end, to act as a form while the launderedtie dries. The forms are connected together by a chain and are adaptedto be inserted in the tie after laundering in order to preserve theshape of the tie while drying.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention consists of a rigidelongated sheet of clear acrylic plastic having at least one polishedsurface. The sheet or board is tapered at the same angle as the tie sothat its narrow end may be extended into a tie from the broad end,between the front and rear facings, and when the board is extended fullyinto the tie so that its narrow end extends more than halfway into thetie, its broad end will still be projecting out of the opening in thetie so as to provide a supporting surface. The form is inserted into thetie until its edges gently stretch the tie and the tie is tautlysupported over the smooth surface of the board.

The board is three-sixteenths inch in thickness and has graduallyrounded edges so as to eliminate the possibility of snagging theinterior of the tie. The smooth surface of the board provides a backingfor scrubbing the tie with a brush in a bath preferably consisting ofwarm water and mild detergent. Since the board is clear and colorless,it aids in the visual detection of spots on very sheer fabrics.

After the tie has been scrubbed with the brush it may be rinsed whilestill on the form and left on the form to dry.

Other objectives, advantages and applications of the present inventionwill be made apparent by the following detailed description of thepreferred embodiment of the invention. The description makesreference tothe accompanying drawings. in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the board of the present inventioninserted within a tie and a brush being used to scrub the supportedsurface of the tie.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the tie support form; and

FIG. 3 is an end view of the tie support form.

The preferred embodiment of the invention, generally indicated at 10, isformed ofa sheet of clear plastic, preferably an acrylic, having athickness of at least oneeighth inch and no greater than one-fourthinch. At least one surface of the form 10, which will be termed the*upper" surface, preferably has a highly smooth finish of no less than25 micro-inches roughness per inch.

The board is elongated and had a width of approximately 3 /2 inches atits widest point and approximately 1 /2 inches at its narrowest point.It is preferably about 26 inches in length. These dimensions provide thedevice with a taper which will allow it to fit snugly within most tieswhich are in current use. Forms of other appropriate dimensions could beprovided to fit other size ties.

The large end of the form 10 has a reverse taper ending in a bluntedpoint 12. The opposite end is preferably formed with a hole 14 for usein hanging the form for storage purposes.

As seen in FIG. 3, the tapered side edges of the form 16 are smoothlyrounded to eliminate the possibility of the form snagging the tie as itis inserted into and removed from the tie. The upper surface of the form10 is inserted in proximity to the forward side of the tie to act as asmooth backing for the later scrubbing operation.

In use, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the narrow end of the form 10 isinserted into the wide end of a tie between the forward and rearsurfaces and extended into the tie until the sides of the form'contactthe sides of the tie. If it is a typical tie only a few inches of thelarge end will then project from the wide end of the tie.

The tie is then washed, preferably employing warm water and a liquidsoap gently scrubbed into the tie with a very soft brush. Following thewashing operation, the tie is preferably thoroughly rinsed and thengently swabbed as with a hand to remove any excess water. The tie in theform is then supported at its exposed end and at a point adjacent to thenarrow end of the form, so that the major section of the tie is not incontact with the supporting surface, until the tiecompletely dries. Whenthe form is removed the tie is ready to wear.

The rounded edges l6 of the form allows it to smoothly engage the edgesof the tie without in any way deforming the edges as would thepreviously proposed, sharp-edged forms.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A form adapted to be inserted between the forward and rear layers ofa tie to provide a backing surface during washing of the tie and shaperetention during the subsequent drying of the tie, comprising: anelongated rigid board formed of transparent cast acrylic plastic havingtapered sides-so as to form a relatively wide end adapted to project outof the broad end of the tie when in use to form a supporting surface,the surfaces of the board having a surface finish of at least 25micro-inches per inch, the thickness of the board being at leastone-eighth inch and no greater than onefourth inch and the edges thereofbeing rounded.

1. A form adapted to be inserted between the forward and rear layers ofa tie to provide a backing surface during washing of the tie and shaperetention during the subsequent drying of the tie, comprising: anelongated rigid board formed of transparent cast acrylic plastic havingtapered sides so as to form a relatively wide end adapted to project outof the broad end of the tie when in use to form a supporting surface,the surfaces of the board having a surface finish of at least 25micro-inches per inch, the thickness of the board being at leastone-eighth inch and no greater than one-fourth inch and the edgesthereof being rounded.